Harran

Harran, also known as Carrhae or Hellenopolis, was an ancient city in upper Mesopotamia near present-day Altinbasak, Turkey. Harran was established in the 20th century BC as a merchant outpost of the Assyrian Empire, as it was situated along a Mediterranean-Tigris trade route. It became a major Assyrian city, and Tiglath-Pileser I built a fortress there. It was conquered by the Babylonians in 610 BC, and it was briefly retaken by the Assyrians and their Egyptian allies before again falling to the Medes and Babylonians in 605 BC. During the 6th century BC, the Persians absorbed the Neo-Babylonian Empire, and it was conquered by Alexander the Great's Macedonian soldiers in 331 BC. Aramaic-speaking Harran became known as "Carrhae" during the Roman period, and it remained in Roman hands until 610 AD, when the Sassanid Persians conquered it from the Byzantines. In 640, it was conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate. On 7 May 1104, during the Crusades, the Battle of Harran was fought. Harran became a mostly-Arab village, but there were some nearby Assyrian villages. In 2012, the Harran district had a population of 72,939 people.